What's your "Close-Call-per-mile" ratio?

I've only been riding since early July, and so far I've had four very close calls, all four the fault of cagers:
1. Puttering up the inside of an "S" curve in my neighborhood. Car approaching me veers into my lane, I swerved and hit the gutter and the horn at the same time. Driver of the car saw me at the last split second, she had been dialing her cell-phone. I stopped but didn't fall over, she kept going.
2. I came to a stop at a stopsign and signaled to turn left. Car coming from my left (who didn't have a stop sign) turns on his signals to make a right hand turn and starts to slow. I let out the clutch, and stall the engine. Thank God I did, he decided at the last split-second to keep going straight; if I hadn't stalled the engine he'da broadsided me.
3. Lady stops at a stop sign, signals to turn the direction I'm heading (I'm on the thru-street) and she pulls out right in front of me. I was able to stop in time, and she stopped halfway through the turn.
4. Same intersection, I'm going the same direction, older person coming the opposite direction pulls a left-turn right in front of me. I was able to swerve, although this one wasn't really close.

So, four bad incidents (two potentially fatal), 600 miles, giving me one close call per 150 miles.

Folks, I have to ask, honestly, is that as bad as it always is??? If it is, I won't be keeping the bike. I'm hoping it was just a run of really bad luck, and I have been driving to work the last two weeks (about 300 miles total) on much heavier-travelled streets without incident. I've been told by two of my military friends that they won't ride in Utah (the local culture highly values "original pioneer stock", and there's been a lot of in-breeding; geneticists do a lot of studies here) so maybe I'm out of luck as long as I live here.

Sorry about the long post and thanks for listening. What have your experiences been where you live?

Some days are worse than others. Some days, usually Fridays, I feel like I am wearing a big giant target. Other days, nothing, just a smooth ride to where ever.

Some of these incidences sound like they didn't see you.

Were you riding at night?

What were you wearing? Grays and browns blend in with the surroundings.

Was your high beam on? Keep it on whenever possible, you want to be see.

How fast were you going? Its easy to mis-judge the speed of a motorcycle.

You sound like you are staying aware of your surroundings, keep doing that and make yourself as visible as possible and you'll be fine.

I have a little over 1000 miles on my FZ6, and haven't had one yet(knock on wood). Friday's are a bitch though, I feel like a squirel wating to be crushed during Friday rush hour.

You need to really follow the adage ...."ride like you are invisible"

I pretend that no one sees me ....

no close calls yet on this bike ----

Ride safe

ouch

On my bike, 600 miles and smooth sailing. However I did lock the rear tire up in the middle of a turn and kind of skidded. I didnt mean too but it was kind of fun too. hehe. My old honda shadow I merged into the left lane to allow room for cages to merge onto the highway, as I was moving in the middle of the left lane, I saw a cadillac doing at least 120 mph, as soon as I saw him I moved to the right side of the left lane almost to the line and he passes me on the solid white line to my left. I swear he must have been 1 inch from me as I could feel the wind buffet me strongly. Oh, I was mid way passing a UPS semi truck/w trailer and he left turn singles and away he starts the merge, I wacked on the brakes, and didnt have anyone behind me, thank god!!. When I exited I gave the trucker the bird and laid on the horn. MOther@#$%#@!!!!
=) temper

It sounds like you could use a reading assignment. LOL

Profcient Motorcycling by David Hough.
Ride Hard Ride Smart by Pat Hahn.

These two books will help you to avoid those situations.

I can think of one "Well this is going to hurt" moment.
I was approaching a intersection (to quote Pat Hahn giant steel battering rams of death) it was 45f Tires were cold, I was cold, I was dressed with thermals, gear, and hunting coveralls over the top.
I was almost hypothermic. I put myself in a very bad position.
Approaching intersection, frnt brake is covered, but my fingers are so cold and stiff, I dont lightly squeeze to get all the play out of brake system, I dont slightly heat the rotor ( I was on the ninja) I dont warn the vehicles behind my that I might slow. I am in the center of the left lane instead of the wheel track.
That is all the bad stuff I was doing wrong.
The good. My eyes were up and looking down the road.
I see a truck turning left across my green light. He is violating my right of way. But thats life.

I grab a handfull of front brake, instead of a progressive squeeze. The front locks and begins to whap back and forth, prior to throwing me on the ground. I let up, I let the handle bars have thier head, and luckly the rake and trail did their job. The bike recovers. Now at this point I should of hit the truck right about left headlamp or left frnt quarter. He saw me, he cut back to straight and stopped in the intersection to let me thru. I missed him, rode home, and shouldnt of. I should of been in the hospitol.

Here is what I did to cause this.

The three degrees of separation.

1 Riding Strategy.
2 Riding Skills.
3 Riding Gear.

When all three fail you meet Mrs Pavement.

I failed my Riding Strategy. To cold to ride, tires to cold, pavement to cold, white paint in the road very slick, hands to cold, mind to cold.
I failed my Riding Skills. Grabbed the brake instead of squeezing.

I didnt meet Mrs Pavement because of luck, and remembering what David Hough said. If the bike gets out of shape, dont try to force it. It is designed to stand up, not fall down. Give it half a chance and it will stay up.

Anyway.
It sent me back to the parking lot for those braking practices.
I made a major withdrawl from my bag o' luck that day.

I hope if convinces you to go spend 50$ on some really helpful books, and several hours of practice in a parking lot.

If you're always having close calls at the same intersection, maybe its time to find a different route. I have logged well over 30,000 miles on motorcycles over the years. to be totally honest, I've had more "close calls" when I was a rookie from riding over my head, then from other vehicles on the road. the few times I've had a cager pull out in front of me were almost predictable. the most dangerous intersection I ride through daily is off the expressway, but I've been cutoff there in my truck more then on the bike. when I'm on my bike I normally shield myself with a semi or an suv as I go through the intersection.

Always Remember !!!! the hobby we all share is potentially dangerous; always assume your invisible!!! always assume that car is going to make a left turn in front of you, never assume that just because there is a stop sign ,that the cross traffic will stop, never ride with your turn signal on unless your about to turn, use the advantages you have, the best way to avoid an accident is to not put your self in a situation where you might be in one, always look for an escape route, don't ride if your overly tired, emotional , angry or distracted, dress for a crash not the weather
just some tips to keep you from submitting your entry to the "Hall of Shame"
:Sport:

My experience has been very positive in my 3000 miles. Most cages give me plenty of room. I do use a 3 second following distance, so I seldom have issues with people cutting me off. I had two semi close calls

1. my fault - I'm stopped at a 4 way stop sign with a cage on the opposite side. I want got there first and want to go straight. The cage wants to make a left turn. I start to go but I get into the intersection and stall. Meanwhile, the cage starts his turn...almost into me. He jams on the brakes..I restart, feel stupid and get out of there.

2. His fault - I'm going down a 25mph street and I see a pickup truck in a driveway. I see his backup lights on (but not moving yet). Did a what-if, so I get on the brakes. Sure enough, he backs out into the street...right where I would have been. By now I'm stopped. He finally sees me and stops, looks sorry and waves. I signaled him to finish backing out, then went on my way.

Good Job

Thats awesome.

2. His fault - I'm going down a 25mph street and I see a pickup truck in a driveway. I see his backup lights on (but not moving yet). Did a what-if, so I get on the brakes. Sure enough, he backs out into the street...right where I would have been. By now I'm stopped. He finally sees me and stops, looks sorry and waves. I signaled him to finish backing out, then went on my way.

my exp

Ok, I think I have come to understand a few things. I have a black belt in martial arts, and in all my years of study, I can honestly say martial arts and riding a bike are simular. Both you need to be expert at defence. Always look for the opening and the way out. Never get distracted and always keep 100% focus. If someone is trying to push into you, step back and let them fall, same with cages in front of you. Always keep your cushion and looking at your 6 every 6 or 7 seconds. If you know who is behind you, you can plan faster and hope for more surplus of luck. Positioning yourself is important too, you need to hog the lane your in and own it, flash your lights, beep your horn, always ready to drop a gear and stop quickly if needed. You also have to know , when in doubt, power out!! Saves more bikers that way.

wrightme43 said:

It sounds like you could use a reading assignment. LOL

Profcient Motorcycling by David Hough.
Ride Hard Ride Smart by Pat Hahn.

These two books will help you to avoid those situations.

Click to expand...

Well, not really. I bought and have read both those books, along with finishing the MSF course two weeks ago. All three SAVED me in those situations; but, the only way I could AVOID those situations was to stay home in bed with the curtains drawn.

My original question was, is the road always this full of clueless drivers?? The meager techniques I've learned so far have saved me, but if there's this many near-misses every 150 miles, one of these days I won't be paying attention, or will have multiple occurances; as much as I love riding so far, it's not worth dying within two years; I'm just trying to get a read on what everyone else has experienced so far.

trailblazer87 said:

Some days are worse than others. Some days, usually Fridays, I feel like I am wearing a big giant target. Other days, nothing, just a smooth ride to where ever.

Some of these incidences sound like they didn't see you.

Were you riding at night?

What were you wearing? Grays and browns blend in with the surroundings.

Was your high beam on? Keep it on whenever possible, you want to be see.

How fast were you going? Its easy to mis-judge the speed of a motorcycle.

You sound like you are staying aware of your surroundings, keep doing that and make yourself as visible as possible and you'll be fine.

Click to expand...

All incidents were in full daylight, in my 30-mph-max neighborhood.

I do have a flat-black helmet that came with the bike, I've ordered a brightly-colored replacement. My coat is black and silver, my only choice in a Tall...

High beams always on ('cept at night) and I always weave when I come upon an intersection.

Never going faster than 35 mph.

I'm trying to stay visible, at least glad I read a couple books before hitting the roads.

Utah sounds like a great place to ride, you have the mountains and the desert type landscape. Plus you don't have a huge city where you have to contend with too much heavy traffic. I would say wildlife might be your biggest hazzard. I live in Las Vegas, where I not only have to deal with constant traffic, but traffic which consists of many tourists who have no clue where they are going or not paying attention by gawking at one of the sights. Just because they have Nevada plates doesn't necessarliy mean that they are local, they could be tourist in rentals cars. Gets worse, you can drink 24/7 here so it's like riding during "last call" every hour. Sometimes when I'm on or near the strip on the weekend, I have to situate myself between all the cabs and the limo's because I know that they haven't been drinking. And if you've seen how some of these cabbies drive in Vegas, there's not too much better than the dunks. Like I mentioned, 24/7, which means everybody is coming and going to and from work during all hours of the day. 80% of my riding in town consist of surface street, nothing but stoplights and intersections. To be honest, this is not the best place to ride, but I love my FZ6 and I also love this city.

I'm a new rider too but am getting close to 4k miles now. I'd really only say I had one close call and it would have been my fault. Was riding home on an unfamiliar route after being at the beach for a work outing, then a boat ride on a hot sunny day. Had on most all my gear (jeans, mesh jacket, helmet, gloves, boots) and was cooking in the still 85F humid air, coupled with being tired I was more thinking about how damn hot I was than what was going on. A couple walked out between parked cars with a baby stroller and the guy in front of me did an emergency stop for them. I was slow getting on the brakes and really grabbed a handful when I did - got to do my first locked rear wheel slide to a stop behind the guy. No issues aside from needing new drawers and a long conversation the next day with the other riders at work about maybe all that gear is only good if you can still think while you wear it (although I still haven't ridden without it).

Lots of other times where people have pulled out, cut me off, etc but I wouldn't call them close - I fully expected every one of them to do it and was able to stop/avoid them. So all-in-all I'd say 1 per 4k miles, which incidentally is probably about the same as what I experience in my car.

Good deal man. I am glad you read those books.

I reread your post again, and see the same thing.
2 and 3 are 100% you.
Turn signals dont mean squat.
1 is just the luck of the draw. I dont think you would of let her hit you. You had time to hit the horn so you had tons of time. I usualy get to hit the horn after the situation has resolved itself, every once and a while its good in parking lots where people are backing, but the usually dont stop so I just avoid them.
4 is luck of the draw as well. People will turn left in front of you. Have you considered getting a headlight modulator? I dont ride with my high on because I think it makes people target fixate on me. I worry that a headlamp modulator would do the same thing. I dont know and alot of people like them.

If you dont feel that riding is worth it, you should probley sell your bike and maybe get a dirt bike. I am willing to take the risk, after I reduce it everyway to sunday that I can find.

Now I am 100% willing to bet if you keep practicing in parking lots, KEEP YOUR EYES UP!!!!, and really really work at your avoidance manuvers in a parking lot that alot of these close calls will not even register as such. You will already know that they are going to do it, and be pleasantly surprised when they dont veer into your lane, or turn left at the last second in front of you.

Another part is like hunterfz6 was talking about.
Martial arts (I like ti chi and kung fu) teach you to roll and flow with others aggression and use it to your advantage. A part of that is looking dangerous enough to leave alone but not so that others have to test you. I know that sounds strange but it is true. A large part of this is bike position, your body even in gear can show confidence. Others pick up on it.

You ever noticed its easy to get a girlfriend when you have a girlfriend? Its in how you hold your head, neck, sholders, back, arms, hands, how you set your foot down, and make your lane checks. You have to present the image that I am a confident, aware, cabable motorcyclist, and you need to give me room.

Then comes the time when people dont see you, or test you. Confidently move. Take a new lane position that avoids them. If they continue turn off, stop, or take off. Cars can not keep up, stop with or move like we can.

I hope this helps and you decide to stick with it. However if you have a feeling that you shouldnt ride, dont force yourself. I believe their are alot of dead people that knew they shouldnt do something, but said the hell with it.

it's about par for the course, very rare ride when there are no close calls. The more urban area you live in the greater % of close calls you should expect.
You have to "drive to survive" essentially expect one out of every three cars does not see you. I tend to expect a few close calls per ride.
Tip: when approching an intersection, driveway, parking lot etc. and you see a car that can potentially mess you up. Don't look at the driver, keep your eye on the front wheels of the car. If the front wheels start roll chances are he/ she is going to pull out infront of you. I'd guess just doing that alone has saved my life 100's of times over the last 20 years of bike riding.

I can give a quote a friend of mine gave me when I started riding. "expect everything out there is out to kill you" keep that in the back of your mind when riding and you'll make out ok.
I have and I have not hit the pavement yet.

I don't believe that I have had anymore close calls on my bike than I have had driving my F250 4x4 white pickup. I had a lady pull out in front of me while I was driving my truck. At a light I asked her why she did that and she said she didn't see me! It was the middle of a nice sunny day. She just didn't look! I have been in one sorta bad motorcycle accident (I have been in many while racing on a track, but those don't count!). I was driving in "bumper to bumper" rush hour traffic. The traffic was moving at about 40 miles and hour. The road was four lane with a turn lane in the middle. I had plenty of room between me and the car ahead of me, but was unable to keep from riding beside someone. I was in the inside lane next to the turn lane. A lady from a side road up ahead to the right didn't stop at her stop sign for some reason and pulled out in front of the traffic. She was struck by a car that didn't have a chance to even hit his brakes. This was in the right lane. Instant road chaos. The cars in the right lane didn't have enough room to stop and three quickly rear-ended each other. The fellow to my right also didn't have enough room but instead of hitting the car in front of him he chose to swerve into the space I had between me and the stopping car in front of me. The only problem was that he had to go through me to get there. I managed to see all this coming and unfortunately I had only one of three choices as he looked straight at me and turned into me. 1-let him hit me and possibly get run over by him or the car behind me, 2- swerve into on coming traffic and hit someone head on, or 3- swerve into the turn lane where a full sized Ford Bronco was stopped waiting to turn. I chose number 3. I managed to get my bike down to about 20mph before impact. You know how some people say they saw their life flash before their eyes right before an accident? Well all I saw was the word FORD as I went through my windshield and bounced of the trucks spare tire!! I then dropped to the ground and could still hear autos slamming into each other. So, in fear of being run over, I rolled under the Bronco. After everything came to a stop I slowly crawled out from under the truck. Results of the accident? The woman who pulled out into the traffic and caused it all had three children in her car all without seat belts. The woman was killed, one of her children was thrown from her car and was run over by another car, also dead. There were a lot of whiplashes in the total of ten cars damaged. I managed to escape with a hairline fracture on my right knuckle. No bruises or other injuries ( I was wearing an armored jacket, gloves, and a full face helmet. Only had jeans on though). The biggest thing that impressed me about my gear was that when I pulled off my helmet I found a deep gouge in the area just below the visor, the part that protects your face. I touched it with my finger and my finger broke through the helmet. If I had not had a full face helmet, my jaw would probably have been severely broken.

That was my close call. sorry for typing so much.

WOW!!! Thanks for posting that.

dayam

Drbart /salute ... that was one hell of a story. Glad you were thinking on your feet. Take the lesser of 3 evils an go for it.

My Wife's side of the family always ask why I still ride a motorcycle after such an accident. I tell them "It is simple, I just love to ride!" I don't think they will ever understand. My side of the family? Well, they all ride motorcycles, need I say more?:rockon: